20 ❙ EggIndustry
Top egg companies gain market
share through consolidation
An examination of WATT Global Media data shows how consolidation
changed the shape of the US industry during the past two decades.
BY AUSTIN ALONZO
Steady at the top
In the 24-year period, with one exception, Cal-Maine
and Rose Acre remained locked into the top two positions.
In 1993, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Chickens
and Eggs Report estimated the nation's layer flock included 239 million hens. The two company's flocks - of
16.1 million and 11.5 million, respectively - represented
11.5 percent of the national flock. In 2017, when the USDA
reported the flock size increased to 314 million hens, the
company's flocks - of 37.94 million and 25 million, re-
liza1979/BigStockPhoto.com
During the past two decades, the largest producers in
the egg industry steadily gained a larger slice of the pie.
Egg Industry examined WATT Global Media data
on the key companies in the sector stretching from the
most recent survey, published in February 2017, to 1993.
The results of the research showed how two companies
- Cal-Maine Foods Inc. and Rose Acre Farms - lead
the industry. In all but one year - 1998, when Michael
Foods lead the pack - Cal-Maine was the top-ranking
company in terms of millions of hens in its flock.
www.WATTAgNet.com ❙ October 2017